Pats’ patchwork defense will make it tougher to live without Gronk

FOXBORO — In an ideal world, the Patriots would not have to search very hard for a formula to use for the last three games of the regular season. They would simply go back to doing what they did for the...

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By
PAUL KENYON
Posted Dec. 11, 2013 @ 7:38 pm

FOXBORO — In an ideal world, the Patriots would not have to search very hard for a formula to use for the last three games of the regular season. They would simply go back to doing what they did for the first half of the season.

New England won five of its first six games before Rob Gronkowski ever stepped on the field. They did it by having the defense, not the offense, lead the way.

Once Gronkowski returned to the lineup, the pattern changed. New England went from 22nd in the league in scoring in Weeks One-Six up to sixth in Week 14. So, without Gronkowski, why not go back to the way the season began?

The answer is because they cannot. Vince Wilfork is not walking through that door this season. Neither is Jerod Mayo. Tommy Kelly is gone, too. What seems like almost the entire defensive backfield is on the injury report. Aqib Talib, Alfonzo Dennard, Kyle Arrington and Steve Gregory all are playing through injuries, but are limited enough that the backfield has switched in recent games from playing man-to-man defense to using more zone alignments.

The defense never allowed more than 27 points in its first six games. Since then, opponents have scored at least 30 points four times. In the last five games, playing against only one team ranked in the top half of offensive units in the league, the Patriots have allowed an average of 28.6 points.

Coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have done all kinds of shuffling throughout the defense. But without several of their best players, it has been a challenge.

The team has dropped all the way to 24th in total defense, having allowed 4,840 yards, which is 303 more than 16th place Miami. Perhaps the biggest issue has been the defensive line and its inability to stop the run.

Wilfork and Kelly are big, wide men who can hold their ground. They have been replaced by two much smaller rookies in Joe Vellano and Chris Jones. Those two were pleasant surprises early on, but as opposing offenses have studied film, they have seen the Pats’ duo can be moved around. The Pats brought in veterans Andre Carter and Isaac Sopoaga to help. Both are past their prime. Carter has helped in spots, but Sopoaga has seen his time cut back.

Last week, Sealver Siliga was promoted from the practice squad (he earlier had been on the practice squad with three others teams) and thrown into action.

The Pats have fallen all the way to next-to-last (31st) in the league in rushing yards allowed at 135.8 per start.

The linebacker situation is unsettled, as well. Brandon Spikes, who saw limited action early, has taken over as the team’s leading tackler, but he struggles in pass defense. Dont’a Hightower has taken over as the signal-caller who communicates with the sideline. Belichick was asked Wednesday how Hightower has done and the coach offered a less-than-ringing endorsement.

“Better each week,” Belichick said. “He’s a smart guy. … I don’t think any of that is too much for him. He has a lot of experience this year obviously in our system. He’s a lot more comfortable with what we’re doing, whereas last year he knew it, but I think this year he just knows it better because he’s had a year of experience. He’s done a good job. It really hasn’t been an issue.”

With all the injuries, the Patriots are more limited in what they are able to do. The defense looks more like the unit that struggled at times in the last several years than the one that looked so good early on. It is understandable if New England fans question what will happen from here on in.

Miami, on the other hand, is peaking offensively. The Dolphins scored a season-high 34 points last week in Pittsburgh.

“Guys are making plays,” said coach Joe Philbin. “You have to credit the offensive staff. You’ve got to credit the players for executing those plays. There’s not really a whole lot of new stuff. We talked to our guys. We made a point of emphasis that when we get to December we aren’t going to reinvent the wheel.”

Miami set a season-high in rushing yards last week with 181 in the victory over Pittsburgh. Daniel Thomas, who was questionable for the game because of an ankle injury, carried 16 times for 105 yards. The offensive line, which was in a shambles with the Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito mess, has settled in and is playing its best football of the season.

The Patriots insist they are not concerned about numbers. They just plan to keep findings ways to win.

“Our team has shown consistently that they’ll keep fighting, no matter what the situation is, that they’ll just keep playing hard,” Belichick said this week. “Once we understand what it is that we need to do, whether that’s score, stop them, block a kick, make a kick, whatever that happens to be, we’ll try to do it. That’s all you can ask for.”